The prime minister has said a new law will be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.
In the first Prime Minister’s Questions of the year, Rishi Sunak said he plans to make sure those convicted as part of the Post Office scandal get exonerated through an act of parliament.
As well as announcing the introduction of new primary legislation – which has yet to be published or given a timetable for voting – Mr Sunak said those who were part of the group litigation order against the Post Office would be eligible for an “upfront payment of £75,000”.
More than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were prosecuted for accounting errors relying on data from the faulty Horizon software.
Once they are exonerated, the government has confirmed sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses will be eligible for at least £600,000 compensation, depending on their circumstances.
More on Post Office Scandal
Related Topics:
The scheme applies to England and Wales.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Sunak said: “Mr Speaker, this is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history.
Advertisement
“People who worked hard to serve their communities had their lives and their reputations destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own.
“The victims must get justice and compensation. Sir Wyn Williams’ inquiry is undertaking crucial work to undo, to expose what went wrong, and we’ve paid almost £150m in compensation to over to 2,500 victims.
“But today I can announce that we will introduce new primary legislation to make sure that those convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated.
“We will also introduce a new upfront payment of £75,000 for the vital [Group Litigation Order] group of postmasters.”
The prime minister’s spokesman said the intention was to have the legislation introduced within weeks and compensation paid out by the end of the year.
Kevin Hollinrake, the postal minister, provided an update to the Commons following PMQs on how they plan to deal with people who did commit a crime that get their conviction overturned.
He said that all those claiming compensation will sign a statement of truth to say they did not commit the crimes of which they were accused.
“Anyone subsequently found to have signed such a statement untruthfully will be putting themselves at risk of prosecution or fraud,” Mr Hollinrake said.
The minister admitted this was not “foolproof”, but it was a “proportionate” device “which respects the ordeal with which these people have already suffered”.
He also said the government was considering whether people who had their appeals refused already would have their convictions overturned.
Numerous ways to fast-track the overturning of convictions had been mooted prior to today’s announcement.
Some had called for a mass appeal before the Court of Appeal, while others wanted legislation to overturn the convictions or even a pardon from the King.
It is not clear exactly how the mechanics of the Commons overturning hundreds of prosecutions will work.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, indicated earlier this week that his party would support an attempt through law to overturn the convictions.
Responding to Mr Sunak today, Sir Keir said: “Mr Speaker, I heard what the prime minister just said about the Post Office scandal – it is a huge injustice.
“People lost their lives, their liberty and their livelihood, and they’ve been waiting far too long for the truth, for justice, and for compensation.
“So I’m glad the prime minister is putting forward a proposal.
“We will look at the details, and I think it’s the job of all of us to make sure that it delivers the justice that is so needed.”
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Water company United Utilities has reported hundreds of millions in profit as it seeks to further increase customer bills.
The utility serving seven million customers in the northwest of England recorded £335.7m in underlying operating profits for the first half of this year, up nearly 23% from £271.1m a year ago.
It comes as the firm has requested bills rise 32% to make them among the most expensive in England and Wales.
The proposed average annual bill would increase to £584 by 2030 from the £443 typical yearly charge in the 2023/2024 financial year. Since April 2023 bills have been upped 6.4% and then 7.9%.
Bills hikes were behind the rise in revenue to more than £1.08bn from £975.4m in 2023.
Other ways of assessing profit were lower than the underlying operating sum. Profit before tax reached £140.6m while after tax profit topped £103.1m for the six months to the end of September 2024, both lower than a year earlier.
Boss’s pay
Advertisement
Bonus and benefits payments worth £1.416m were paid to two executives on top of £1.128m in base pay, according to analysis of company filings done by the Liberal Democrats.
It’s down compared with 2022/2023 when three executives were given £1.6m in base pay and £2.456m in bonuses and benefits.
In a year of record sewage outflows into waterways the company was one of just three firms that met the Environment Agency’s top four-star performance ranking.
United Utilities in July came under investigation by water regulator Ofwat for not meeting its obligation to minimise pollution.
In response the company said at the time: “We understand and share people’s concerns about the health of the environment and the operation of wastewater systems, including combined sewer overflows.”
She said it marks “the biggest set of reforms to the pensions market in decades” ahead of providing more details in a speech at Mansion House on Thursday evening.
Almost 90 local government pension pots will be grouped together, with defined contribution schemes merged and assets pooled together.
This is part of the government’s plan to increase economic growth through investing in infrastructure.
Pension schemes get greater returns when they reach around £20bn to £50bn as they are “better placed to invest in a wider range of assets”, according to the government.
This is backed up by evidence from Canada and Australia, the government argues – with Canada’s schemes investing four times more in infrastructure, and Australia three times more than the UK’s defined contribution schemes.
Advertisement
Pensions minister Emma Reynolds told Sky News larger pension schemes are able to invest “in a more diverse range of assets, including private equity, which are higher risk, but over time give a higher return”.
She said the government will not tell pension fund managers they must invest more in private equity but due to the larger scale they will be able to invest in a “broader range of assets, and that’s what we see in Canada and Australia”.
Ms Reynolds added that a Canadian teacher or an Australian professor is currently more likely to be invested in British infrastructure or British high-growth companies than a British saver, which she said is “wrong”.
The chancellor has said the changes would “unlock tens of billions of pounds of investment in business and infrastructure, boost people’s savings in retirement and drive economic growth so we can make every part of Britain better off”.
However, Tom Selby, the director of public policy at financial company AJ Bell, said: “There needs to be some caution in this push to use other people’s money to drive economic growth. It needs to be made very clear to members what is happening with their money.”
The government says the funds will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and will need to “meet rigorous standards to ensure they deliver for savers”.
The Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales will manage assets worth around £500bn by 2030.
These assets are currently split across 86 different administering authorities, with local government officials and councillors managing each fund.
Under the government plans, the management of local government pensions and what they invest in will be moved from councillors and local officials to “professional fund managers”.
This will allow them to invest more in assets such as infrastructure, supporting economic growth and local investment on behalf of the 6.7 million public servants, the government said.
Defined contribution pension schemes are set to manage £800bn worth of assets by the end of the decade.
There are around 60 different multi-employer schemes, each investing savers’ money into one or more funds. The government will consult on setting a minimum size requirement for these funds.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Businesses cautious – but pensions sector backs plans
Businesses will need to be reassured that the government’s plans are watertight following the fallout from the budget, according to the trade group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
The CBI’s chief economist Louise Hellem said: “While the chancellor is right to concentrate on mobilising investment, putting pension reform to work for the government’s growth mission, unlocking investment also needs competitive and profitable businesses.
“With the budget piling additional costs on firms and squeezing their headroom to invest, the government needs to work hard to regain the confidence in the UK as a place businesses and communities can succeed.
“Pension schemes will want to operate within a UK economy that is prospering.”
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
But key parts of the pensions sector gave their backing to the government’s plans, including Standard Life, Royal London, Local Pensions Partnership Investments and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “This is about harnessing the untapped potential of the pensions belonging to millions of people, and using it as a force for good in boosting our economy.”
Consumer rights group Which? is suing Apple for £3bn over the way it deploys the iCloud.
If the lawsuit succeeds, around 40 million Apple customers in the UK could be entitled to a payout.
The lawsuit claims Apple, which controls iOS operating systems, has breached UK competition law by giving its iCloud storage preferential treatment, effectively “trapping” customers with Apple devices into using it.
It also claims the company overcharged those customers by stifling competition.
The rights group alleges Apple encouraged users to sign up to iCloud for storage of photos, videos and other data while simultaneously making it difficult to use alternative providers.
Which? says Apple doesn’t allow customers to store or back-up all of their phone’s data with a third-party provider, arguing this violates competition law.
The consumer rights group says once iOS users have signed up to iCloud, they then have to pay for the service once their photos, notes, messages and other data go over the free 5GB limit.
More on Apple
Related Topics:
“By bringing this claim, Which? is showing big corporations like Apple that they cannot rip off UK consumers without facing repercussions,” said Which?’s chief executive Anabel Hoult.
“Taking this legal action means we can help consumers to get the redress that they are owed, deter similar behaviour in the future and create a better, more competitive market.”
Advertisement
Apple ‘rejects’ claims and will defend itself
Apple “rejects” the idea its customers are tied to using iCloud and told Sky News it would “vigorously” defend itself.
“Apple believes in providing our customers with choices,” a spokesperson said.
“Our users are not required to use iCloud, and many rely on a wide range of third-party alternatives for data storage. In addition, we work hard to make data transfer as easy as possible – whether it’s to iCloud or another service.
“We reject any suggestion that our iCloud practices are anti-competitive and will vigorously defend against any legal claim otherwise.”
It also said nearly half of its customers don’t use iCloud and its pricing is inline with other cloud storage providers.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
How much could UK Apple customers receive if lawsuit succeeds?
The lawsuit will represent all UK Apple customers that have used iCloud services since 1 October 2015 – any that don’t want to be included will need to opt out.
However, if consumers live abroad but are otherwise eligible – for example because they lived in UK and used the iCloud but then moved away – they can also opt in.
The consumer rights group estimates that individual consumers could be owed an average of £70, depending on how long they have been paying for the services during that period.
Apple is facing a similar lawsuit in the US, where the US Department of Justice is accusing the company of locking down its iPhone ecosystem to build a monopoly.
Apple said the lawsuit is “wrong on the facts and the law” and that it will vigorously defend against it.
And in December last year, a judge declared Google’s Android app store a monopoly in a case brought by a private gaming company.
“Now that five companies control the whole of the internet economy, there’s a real need for people to fight back and to really put pressure on the government,” William Fitzgerald, from tech campaigning organisation The Worker Agency, told Sky News.
“That’s why we have governments; to hold corporations accountable, to actually enforce laws.”